As electric utilities enter into turbulent times of energy transition, there are several forces that impact upon their need for new business models. The old models don’t work as well which leads to a loss of customers and subsequent declining revenue. Innovative methods are necessary to attract staff with new technological skills. Motivating management and staff can mean changing/updating rewards systems. IA better match is needed for new resources, regulations, and customer demands. All electric utilities are aware of the changing business landscape which involves differing customer interactions (such as private solar systems and storage batteries, EV charging demands), and most are moving to adjust.

This study of 104 utilities reviewed current business operations and some of the pressures they are experiencing which stimulated them to consider new business models. Future goals for these utilities indicated where they expect to align their own resources with the out-year plans. Customer focus was inspected but revealed only just over half of the utilities participated in some customer-oriented programs. Lastly, the utilities were asked about what their crystal ball for the electricity industry would look like in five to ten years; and they had several descriptions about that future.

Key Findings

• Over ¾ of the utilities (77.9%) reported that they were considering new business models
• The major reason was innovative technologies
• Main reason utilities were not considering new business models was cost
• Biggest interest level (70.6%) for a new service was for a peak demand reduction program
• Less than half (47.6%) were satisfied with their existing operations management system
• Over 70% (72.6%) have implemented mobile workforce technologies
• The top three characteristics of the future of the electricity utility industry were: new energy sources available (e.g., offshore, battery storage) (17.0%), more distributed energy resources (DERs) (10.4%), and artificial intelligence integration (8.5%)